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The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Since 1967, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. The American agency that administers the work proposed by the FOIA is an independent research institute and library located at The George Washington University (the archives)

Yes, I believe it benefits the citizen. In that it serves as a repository of government records on a wide range of topics pertaining to national security, foreign intelligence and economic policies of the United States.  The archives also broaden access to the historical record and is a leading advocate and user of the freedom of information act. The archive regularly publishes portions of its collection on the  world Wide Web, CD Rom and in books making it accessible to the public. Thus, I believe it benefits the citizens in that respect.

In the journal entry “Who’s in Charge here? Authority, Authoritativeness, and the Undergraduate Researcher”, Meszaros describes different factors involving Authority between teachers, librarians, and their students.  One factor she speaks of is what a majority of students think of their faculty members within their school. Meszaros said, “Administrative Authority is what undergraduates typically ascribe to faculty as. When students “listen”, they do so largely because they believe they must in order to receive a satisfactory grade” (pg.6, para.4). This description of Authority between a student and their teacher/elders within the school system is similar to a parent and their toddler.  Small children have this concept in their mind that when mommy and daddy say no they make sure not to do it in front of them so that they can be rewarded in a good way for listening.  But, when mommy and daddy are around they fall back into their same bad habit of doing what their parents said not to do.  Although, it is not completely the same, I do believe we all have bad habits and just like we don’t want to work but we have to survive.

It is the same thing when it comes to students having to study and do what they have been told by teachers to receive a (reward) good grade.  Not because they want to but they have to in order to pass and excel to the next level in life. Meszaros also mentions this in her journal entry, “Their adherence to faculty instructions is not necessarily based on a recognition of their professor’s “cognitive authority,” defined by Wilson (1991, p. 259), as an authority based on expertise” (pg. 6, para.4).  Students only adhere to their teachers directions not because they care of their background and skillfulness or who they are in general but, because at the end of the day they are just trying to pass.  This also ties into how many students do not go to librarians for help.  Even though they are experts at what they do and may have information on certain topics that may be of great use to an individual.  Students tend to go to their peers or other faculty members instead, who may not be as knowledgeable when it comes to finding multiple sources as librarians can. Overall, when it comes to he aspect of “questioning authority” and “who’s in charge?”, I believe it is not the faculty or librarians who have the authority 100%.  The students are partially or some may say equally in charge and in control of their own lives and it is up to them to listen in order to excel in whatever they do.

Martin’s book is available in PDF format online due to the way he views information and knowledge.  He doesn’t want this type of information to be reserved for certain people or organizations, rather, it should be available to everyone so they can pursue their acquisition of knowledge. Through this, knowledge will be able to evolve and change based on our needs at the time; knowledge shouldn’t become stagnant and kept from the public.

Its availability online further exemplifies his ideals as it is being made available to all without the need to pay, which many people may not be able to do, or be a part of some type of organization which can obviously afford to pay the entry point.

Brian Martin’s book is available to read as a PDF document on the web because he wants his peers to realize how many factors interfere with a professional researchers ability to complete useful research. Typically, a  professional researcher creates documents that are only useful to governments, corporations, professions, and themselves. The general population hardly notices it because researchers are asked to complete research that fits a company’s agenda only.  For example, if a professional researcher is asked to determine general information on a drug, then they are allowed to do only that. They are unable to delve deeper on the topic and cannot, for example, discover how to reduce tension without said drug because there is no profit in doing so.

I believe Martins choice to allow users to view this book for free does exemplify the idea of liberated scholarships because the chapter entitled “The politics of research” revolves around researched information not being useful to the public. While there are communities  such as churches, environmental groups, and women’s groups that fund research, the amount of money available is significantly lower compared to the military and government. The belief that scholarships should be liberated is certainly reflected in Martins description of this issue as without the proper funds, smaller companies cannot find useful information for everyone.

Martin’s book chapter is available to read in pdf form because of the way he views knowledge/ information. Martin thinks information should be liberated. He says, “the word knowledge suggests certainty, authoritativeness, even usefulness. It is a good thing to be knowledgeable yet much knowledge is quite limited, specific, parochial.” Martin suggests that economic knowledge is oriented to certain powerful groups, notably corporations, governments and economists themselves. Martin speaks of knowledge as being “all sorts” for example a mechanic knows about motors and a parent knows about a child. Yet, he shifts away from these sorts to focus on the sorts of knowledge that have greatest credibility-knowledge certified by scientists, engineers, medical researchers, lawyers and other such reports. Still, the issue does not stop there Martin speaks of the shaping of knowledge and coined the old saying “the one who pays the piper calls the tune.” Meaning because of hierachy and funding the people at the top provides a strong steering process-therefore only certain types of knowledge are likely to result because the researchers are paid to look only for certain types of things.

The availablity of this book chapter online certainly exemplify Martin’s idea that scholarship should be liberated. Just as this chapter is readily available even so scholarship should be. Not with all the red tapes, excessive questions and essay writing that it entails at present.